According to officials, Coventry will be revitalized by plans to build a new cultural facility in the city core, which might help the local economy. Coventry City Council claims that construction on the former IKEA building, which will be transformed into a massive cultural icon with amenities for the city’s citizens and visitors to enjoy, will start in the summer, even though it acknowledges that more funding is required to proceed.
Coventry City Council, Arts Council England, the British Council, Arts Council Collection, and CV Life have partnered to create the City Centre Cultural Gateway. Two floors of the building will be occupied by Coventry University, which is also a part of the project.
More information on the future plans will be provided during a Cabinet meeting of Coventry City Council on March 12. The program requires more public funding, as we revealed this week, or it will be abandoned.
However, the council is optimistic that it will not only proceed, but also have a substantial impact on the local economy. They claim a report demonstrates that “initial high-level economic modelling” has calculated the project has the potential to sustain jobs in the tourist, arts, and hospitality industries as well as long-term jobs in construction.
Over a ten-year period, it is estimated that it might produce approximately £185 million in “Gross Value Added (GVA)” for Coventry and the West Midlands. Subject to approval, construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2024 and be finished by the late summer of 2025.
